Ferrari (RACE) Q4 2023 earnings

Luxury sports car manufacturer Ferrari topped Wall Street’s top- and bottom-line earnings expectations for the fourth quarter to finish off a record year of profits.

The automaker reported a net profit of 1.26 billion euros, or $1.36 billion, for 2023, including 294 million euros, or $317.9 million, during the fourth quarter. Its adjusted earnings before interest and taxes, or EBIT, was 1.62 billion euros, or $1.75 billion, for the year, including 372 million euros, or $402.3 million, in the last quarter. Both were yearly records for the company.

Ferrari’s revenue last year increased 17% to 5.97 billion euros, or $6.46 billion, including an 11% increase in the fourth quarter from 1.37 billion euros a year earlier in 2022.

Such records are expected to be short-lived, as Ferrari is forecasting to top many of those results in 2024. The company’s forecast for this year calls for revenue of more than 6.4 billion euros, or $6.9 billion, and adjusted per share profit of at least 7.50 euros, with an adjusted EBIT margin of at least 38%. Its adjusted profit margins are expected to be in line or slightly lower than 2023.

Shares of Ferrari reached a new 52-week high Thursday, gaining roughly 12% to nearly $390 a share on the New York Stock Exchange. The company’s previous 52-week high of $372.42 occurred on Dec. 11.

Here’s how the company performed in the fourth quarter, compared to average estimates compiled by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:

• Earnings per share: 1.62 euros adjusted vs. 1.50 euros expected
• Revenue: 1.523 billion euros vs. 1.506 billion expected

Ferrari shipments were up 3% last year to 13,663 vehicles in 2023, including 3,245 units in the fourth quarter.

“We now have a very important year ahead of us in the execution of our business plan, which continues on schedule along its carefully planned path,” Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna said in a release. “The record 2023 results, the ambitions that we have on 2024, together with the exceptional visibility on our order book allow us to look at the high-end of 2026 targets with stronger confidence.”

Separately, in other Ferrari news, multiple media outlets reported that Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton is on the brink of making a surprising move from Mercedes over to the Ferrari racing team for the 2025 season.